


Dances with Wolves

by shiroderexx



Series: Twilight [4]
Category: (여자)아이들 | (G)I-DLE, ATEEZ (Band), Mamamoo, ONEUS (Band), ONF (Band), Oh My Girl (Band), SEVENTEEN (Band), Stray Kids (Band), The Boyz (Korea Band), 여자친구 | GFriend (Band)
Genre: A piano is not a great gift, Alpha!Hyojin, Alpha!Sangyeon, Alpha!Soyeon, Angst, Bad News, Bonding, Call the AAP!, Declarations Of Love, Drama™, F/F, F/M, Fae!Joshua, Fluff, I literally make the rules but, I would die for Arin & Soobin MC duo, Jiho and Chan are couple goals I don't make the rules, Just a little tho, Love Confessions, Mimi breakdown, Ravn is doctor love, Seonghwa is just trying his best, Soul-linking traditions, Syplh!Soobin, Tenderness and softness, Werewolves' traditions, Wholesome, WooSan?, Wooyoung and Seunghee peace treaty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 08:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26968924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiroderexx/pseuds/shiroderexx
Summary: Time has passed since the immortals last adventure. Seunghee is finally getting to enjoy the long life ahead of her, or is she? Doubts fill her mind everyday: she is scared she would hurt Binnie. Would she dare to take the risk of sharing her eternal life with the witch?
Relationships: Bae Yoobin | Binnie/Hyun Seunghee, Bang Chan & Kim Jiho, Kim Mihyun | Mimi/Yoo Shiah | YooA
Series: Twilight [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730839
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	1. Their bark is worse than their bite

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This story is finally coming to an end, only this part and another are left, which means only 4 more chapters for it to finish. I hope you continue to enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. You can come and scream at me on my twitter (@jeonghxbit) or leave a comment down below. It really helps me and makes me want to keep going. Kudos are welcomed as well <3 
> 
> Without further ado, I'll let you to enjoy the fourth part of the Twilight series. I guess the title is quite self-explanatory, but on this part we'll learn about the werewolves traditions and the soul-linking ritual between human and wolf. I hope you find it interesting!

The morning after the events of the hectic day in which the immortals tried to rescue Mimi, the vampire and Yooa were back in the cabin. The werewolf informed Seunghee that Seoho and the rest of the no-longer-vampire-human-hybrids had decided to temporarily stay with her wolfpack while considering Juyeon’s offer. Seungjun had also completely recovered from his injuries and was dying to remove the red leather pants he was still wearing.

Ever since then, two or three months had passed, time was difficult to distinguish for an immortal being, and life had become calmer inside the cabin in the woods. Everything was peaceful, so Binnie and Seunghee would take long strolls in the forest, exploring it. When they were too tired, they would head back and be welcomed by the sweet smell of Arin’s cookies. The fairy had taken baking as a hobby, and none in the house was complaining, except for Chan who joked about being unable to refrain himself from eating them all, and that doing so was going to make him put on some weight, which caused Jiho to softly chuckle while assuring him he would still look cute. The demon had moved in with Hyojung’s permission, of course, and was sharing Jiho’s bedroom. Ever since Chan had come back into her life, Jiho was beaming. She would sing in the mornings while preparing breakfast, study some enchantments in the afternoon alongside the demon and then fall asleep in the couch while holding his hand. Then Chan would carry her princess style (a very proper way to carry Jiho) and sleep beside each other. The atmosphere surrounding them was so lovey-dovey and natural that it made Seunghee kind of jealous. Not because she did not have anyone to shower with her affections, but because she was awkward, clumsy, and overall, not the best date. Whenever Seunghee tried to be the slightest bit romantic towards Binnie, something would go wrong. Like the time she tried preparing a romantic dinner with candles and all, just to end up burning down the tablecloth, or the time she almost blew up the entire kitchen trying to bake a sponge cake as a surprise, or the time she finally successfully prepared some pancakes and brought them up to Binnie’s bedroom with a breakfast-in-bed followed by cuddles date idea only to dump the juice on the witch’s bed… Maybe Seunghee was not the best cook in the world, but Binnie could tell she was trying her damned best to impress her, which made her even fonder of the vampire. It was safe to say the two girls were completely head over heels for the other. Still, Seunghee was not brave enough to carry on with Jeonghan’s suggestion.

The angel had confirmed that Binnie wanted to be something more, something serious… She wanted to be Seunghee’s gi… girlf… girlfriend… The vampire was not able to grasp the concept. Perhaps because she felt it was too good to be true. Of course, she had dated some people when she was alive, but this was definitely not comparable to her past relationships. She was dead now. Also, a vampire. She could lose control of herself and if all things came to worst… She could seriously harm the witch. And Binnie was technically married. Not that her husband was still around. Or at least he should not be. A normal human could not live that long. The point was that the bond they shared was nothing like Seunghee had experienced before, therefore, she did not know how to act upon it.

The vampire had tried to turn to everyone in the cabin for advice about what she should do. Even if the answer was clearly in front of her, she needed the push of a third party to do it. Seunghee went to Mimi first. As she was more experienced on the field of being a vampire, she might have some useful tips on how not to bite off the neck of your loved ones.

“Love is a painful feeling”, Mimi sipped from her tea while gazing out the window.

The vampire had been quite apathetic ever since she came back home. Most days she just gazed out the window or stared at a wall for hours, lost in her own thoughts. Hyojung had told everyone to give her time. Mimi was probably still feeling bad about all the incidents surrounding the vampire sect. Also, they did not know how long she had been starved for, which could have had some effect on her well-being. So, after that response, Seunghee just decided to ask someone else instead. Someone perhaps more experienced in love than her.

“You should just ask her out”, Jiho nodded while stirring a pot.

Chan was beside her, focusing his fire powers on controlling the stove underneath.

“Okay, so I do that”, Seunghee agreed, “Then, what if I hurt her?”

“I live with that fear every single day, Seunghee”, Chan turned his attention to her, “We can’t allow our fears to refrain us from the life we want.”

The vampire did not know how to respond to that. The demon had a point, that was true. But his reasons and hers were completely different. The motive behind his fears was his still recovering mind, but Seunghee’s was more of an instinct kind of thing. Still, she appreciated his advice. It was true that the demon had some really bad days in which he just returned to the Demon Realm and hid. Those days were the worst for Jiho. She worried over and over about him, and when he was finally back, the witch just hugged him real tight for hours, assuring the demon she would always be there for him. Seunghee could understand Chan’s urge to run away to a place in which he could not harm anyone. They both did not want to lose control of themselves. The difference between them laid on that she had no place to run away to. No Vampire Realm.

On her quest of finding an answer to her doubts, she looked for the most long-lived of the bunch.

“I loved a long time ago”, Hyojung reminisced of a past that was unknown to the vampire, “I would recommend you read _Ars Amatoria_ , it could enlighten you in unexpected ways.”

“Why would you recommend her to read Ovid?”, Arin had exclaimed.

“Well, he was one of the greatest poets”, the deity defended herself.

“Like centuries ago!”, Arin reminded her.

“So?”, Hyojung raised an eyebrow.

“I believe it to be quite an outdated dating manual”, the fairy crossed her arms.

“You used it well with that sylph”, Hyojung pointed, “What was his name again? Yubin?”

“You mean Soobin?”, Arin had turned completely red and her wings were flapping nervously.

“Soobin?”, Seunghee posed.

“He was a friend of mine before…”, Arin started but stopped herself.

“Before what?”, the vampire tried to push.

“That’s a story for another time”, the fairy smiled awkwardly, “Now you should go ask someone else, we have been single for too long, so we are no help.”

Arin was politely asking Seunghee to drop the topic. The vampire quickly caught onto her intentions and tried to look for someone else’s advice. There was only two more people she could turn to. One of them was almost never home as she was taking care of things back home with her wolfpack and the other… Seunghee would never turn to him. She would rather walk through Hell and back on her own than relying on Wooyoung. Just thinking of all the teasing she would have to endure for the rest of her life, which was going to be a long long looooooong time, gave her goosebumps. So, she waited for the day Yooa would emerge from the forest and hopefully give her some actually useful advice.

Luckily, said day came sooner than she expected. Yooa came back one morning before the sunrise, accompanied by Seoho, Youngjo and three more people the vampire failed to recognize. At the sight of her friend, Seunghee rushed down the stairs in silence and watched as a scene she could not fully understand took place in front of her eyes. Two men and a woman stood behind Yooa while the werewolf respectfully bowed down in front of Hyojung, who had come out the second she felt the presence of the girl. Yooa prompted Seoho and Youngjo by her side to do the same.

“C’mon now, such curtsies are unnecessary between us, are they?”, Hyojung softly chuckled at the sight.

“The protocol is the protocol”, Yooa smiled.

“I’m glad to see you”, the deity approached the werewolf with open arms.

Yooa quickly dug herself into the hug Hyojung was offering. The werewolf also took the chance to lightly nod at Seunghee, acknowledging her presence.

“I believe a decision has been taken?”, the deity raised an eyebrow towards the two boys.

Seoho took a step forward. “Yes.”

“Shall we sit and have some breakfast to accompany this conversation?”, Hyojung offered.

“That would be nice”, Yooa nodded.

Hyojung turned towards the vampire who stood by the door frame, still not sure if it was okay to interfere.

“Seunghee, would you prepare some tea and pastries for all?”, she asked.

Seunghee fervently nodded and rushed inside. Arin was already in the kitchen, neatly placing chocolate cookies in plates. Soon after the vampire had come in, the group outside entered the house. Seunghee felt a piercing smell filling her nostrils. It was a mixture of nature scents, such as wet soil, fresh herbs, and flowers. The impression it gave the vampire was that of wilderness. She turned around towards the smell source to find herself staring at the strangers that accompanied her friends. Seunghee looked at them in detail. The woman had come in first and she was the definite expression of the wilderness the vampire had felt. Her short hair was pushed to the side in an unruly way, her clothes messy and stained with mud that was going to be a pain to clean off the carpet. The two men, as different from each other as they could get, seemed to have at least tried to dress for the apparently formal occasion without much luck. The first one, who pulled-off a soft pink hair color, looked calm and composed, while the other, a muscular blonde, had a dangerous aura surrounding him. The blonde made eye contact with Seunghee while looking around the living room, and the vampire felt her insides twist. The man sat down on a chair with a thud and spoke with a heavy but clear voice.

“I still don’t get why you keep on surrounding yourself with night creatures”, he did not take her eyes off Seunghee, disdain on his tone.

“Sangyeon, they have the same right to a home as you do”, Hyojung softly sighed while taking a seat herself.

“Yes, but why does it have to be _your_ house?”, the blonde, Sangyeon, insisted.

“You forget she is kind of a Little Sister of the Poor”, the woman snorted.

“And you forget that without her there would be no home for us to go back to, right?”, the cherry man spoke softly but his tone showed he was running out of patience for the two of them.

“As always, Hyojin’s logic is irrefutable”, the woman lifted her arms in defeat.

“Just because you make no sense, Soyeon”, Hyojin approached the kitchen with a resolute step and helped Arin deliver the cups Seunghee was supposed to carry before she got stuck in place by Sangyeon’s stare.

The man brought the forest scent with him. Seunghee was sure now. The strangers were werewolves. The vampire was finally getting to meet some of Yooa’s wolfpack.

Seunghee got back to her senses and finished helping the fairy prepare the tea and serve it. The biscuits were gone the moment they placed them on the table, so Arin went to bring more while murmuring something about how expensive it was to feed a hungry wolf while Seunghee stood up close to Hyojung, waiting for an order of some sorts, wondering if her presence was still needed.

“Why don’t you sit down with us?”, Seoho innocently suggested.

“A vampire? With us?”, Soyeon barked.

“She saved our lives”, Youngjo defended her to Seunghee’s surprise.

“And?”, the woman inquired.

“The kids want her present, let them be”, Hyojin sipped from his cup while gesturing the vampire to sit down.

Sangyeon and Soyeon clearly did not like the idea of her being at the table, but if her friend wanted her there, there she would be, so she took a seat in between Yooa and Seoho.

“Thank you”, Seoho timidly whispered to which Seunghee replied with a soft smile.

“Now that we are all here”, Sangyeon spoke after a heavy sigh, “Shall we-“

He was interrupted by some loud footsteps running down the stairs that accompanied an equally loud voice.

“Yooa!”, Mimi was still wearing her pajamas, her hair sticking out in all directions.

“Mimi?”, Yooa pushed her chair back while standing up in a rush.

The vampire stopped in the middle of the staircase, and as soon as her eyes met those of the people sitting at the dining table, her whole face changed its expression.

“Great, another one”, Soyeon rolled her eyes.

“I just thought I smelled of wet dog…”, Mimi bit back.

“Mimi, please”, Yooa sighed, “Do you need something? We have some important issues to discuss.”

“I don’t need anything from you”, Mimi furiously stomped back to her bedroom.

She slammed the door shut, leaving the living room atmosphere dense and quiet. Doubting what should be her next move, Yooa nibbled on her lower lip.

“Can we start now?”, Sangyeon’s voice brought the werewolf back to reality.

“Yes, sorry”, she muttered and sat back down.

“Bless the Moon”, he said while gesturing Yooa to start talking.

“So, as you know, we rescued Seoho, Youngjo and everyone from Solar’s vampire sect”, Yooa talked to Hyojung, “Juyeon, a member of Sangyeon’s pack, offered the guys the chance of becoming werewolves.”

“As always your kids do whatever they want with our traditions”, Soyeon reprimanded Sangyeon.

“My family is free to do whatever they want”, he replied.

“You are perfectly aware that only alphas can give such invitations”, she reminded Sangyeon.

“And you know that my boys and I don’t play by the rules”, Sangyeon snickered.

“It’s not rules, it’s our traditions, and they should be respected”, Soyeon raised her voice.

“If it were for our traditions, we wouldn’t have joined packs”, Hyojin interrupted them, “And even if sometimes I regret it”, he sighed, “We are stronger together and that’s a fact. Now, can we go straight to the point?”, Hyojin turned to the deity, “We have come to formally inform you that the kids have accepted the invitation and will be carrying out the ritual in two or three moon cycles, when the full moon shines on the sky, as always.”

“And as always, you are requesting my blessings”, Hyojung nodded.

“The new kids are safer during the hunting if Mother Earth is nice to them”, he smiled.

“Then I’ll make sure she behaves”, the deity returned the gesture.

“Thank you”, Yooa sighed in relief.

“So, are we done?”, Soyeon asked.

“Actually, no”, Seoho’s voice perked out, “There’s something I would like to discuss.”

Even if he received a disapproving stare from a couple werewolves, Seoho gulped down and proceeded to talk to the deity. “Would it be possible for us to get some kind of checkup?”

“Like a doctor’s appointment?”, Hyojung posed.

“More of an angel appointment…”, he explained.

“What? We are not calling the AAP, they have been waiting for the chance to get their hands on our rituals procedures for centuries!”, Soyeon exclaimed.

“I think that carrying on the ritual without knowing whether or not we still have vampire blood in our system is way more dangerous than calling them”, Youngjo defended their point.

“I somehow agree”, Sangyeon spoke while caressing his chin, “Dongju is the same age as Sunwoo and Eric, if something happened to them… I would also not forgive myself…”

“Thank you for understanding”, Youngjo softly let go of the air he was holding.

“I also believe safety should be our first priority”, Hyojin agreed.

“I strongly oppose it!”, Soyeon hit the table with a closed fist, “We are just going to hand our traditions to the angels for them to analyze them?”

“We are not handing anything”, Sangyeon sighed, “We are just making sure the ritual can proceed smoothly.”

“The soul-linking ritual never goes smoothly, you two know that better than anyone”, she almost spit.

The guys looked hurt by the comment. Seunghee could tell she had poked some throbbing wound. An uncomfortable silence took over the room. A knife would have struggled to cut the heavy tension that filled the air.

“Because we have experienced loss, we know how much it hurts, Soyeon”, Hyojin managed to respond after a couple seconds that seemed like a lifetime. “We don’t want anyone else to go through such grievances.”

“It’s a majority vote”, Sangyeon fiercely whispered.

Soyeon opened her mouth to respond to it, but then decided against it and furrowed her eyebrows, giving up the topic.

“I will contact the AAP then”, Hyojung said, “You will be able to meet them here, in neutral territory.”

“Thank you very much”, Seoho bowed his head.

“Then let’s head back home”, Hyojin stood up, “We have plenty of work to do. We’ll be waiting for a date for the checkup.”

“The tea was delicious”, Sangyeon smiled towards Arin who slightly bowed her head.

“I will be joining the pack later”, Yooa announced before running up the stairs.

“That vampire is going to drive her mad one day…”, Soyeon muttered.

“Can I talk with Seunghee before we go?”, Seoho asked.

“Sure”, Hyojin exited the house followed by Sangyeon and a very-much-tired-of-vampire-shenanigans Soyeon.

“That was intense”, Seunghee finally spoke.

“Everyone is quite intense back home”, Youngjo chuckled.

“I have started to realize that immortally makes everyone quite intense”, the vampire nodded.

“I am very calm”, Hyojung intervened while helping Arin clean up.

“I would say you are the only exception”, Arin replied.

“Could be…”, she agreed.

“So, how have you been?”, Seunghee turned her attention back to the guys.

“Good!”, Seoho was genuinely happy, “Everyone is nice, and the kids are making friends. Sangyeon’s pack became werewolves around our age, so we get along the best with them.”

“They make us feel at home”, Youngjo nodded.

“How about you?” , Seoho asked.

“Well, I’ve been just hanging out basically”, Seunghee replied, “Nothing much.”

“How about that girl?”, he wondered.

“Binnie?”, Seunghee’s voice became two octaves higher, “We are good, we are fine…”

Seoho lifted an eyebrow. “You sure?”

“Actually, no”, the vampire whispered, “I mean we are good but…”, she inhaled, “I want to ask her out, like officially? But I have no idea what to do.”

“Oh”, Youngjo and Seoho spoke at the same time.

“Well, our experience with vampires hasn’t been too good”, Youngjo started, “But we know you are different.”

Seoho furiously nodded, agreeing with his friend.

“But what If I’m not? What if I hurt her? It has happened before”, Seunghee shared her worries.

“The situation is really complicated, indeed”, Seoho rested his head on his hand, thinking.

They were silent for a second before Seoho spoke again.

“But, you know, that’s also part of life, I guess? Every day we put ourselves in danger. We cross the street even if we could get hit by a car…”

Seunghee gulped down.

“Please, don’t tell me that’s how you died”, Seoho gasped.

The vampire nodded.

“I am so sorry”, Seoho’s eyes were wide open, horrified by his lack of tact.

“It’s okay, you couldn’t have known”, Seunghee reassured him.

“Still…”, he insisted.

“I think this really exemplifies what Seoho was trying to point”, Youngjo intervened.

“What do you mean?”, the guy asked.

“We go through life every day, not knowing where our path will lead us to that day. Some days we mess up, but we can always make up for it the next day. I know that you might be scared that in the long run you could hurt Binnie, but the future is already tomorrow”, he explained, “Just think about it like a thing you have to prevent from happening every day, not in the future. If we live too caught up on things that still have not happened, be it good or bad, we end up forgetting about enjoying the twenty-four hours we have in front of us.”

“Instead of focusing on what would happen in two days, two weeks or two centuries, you should think what will happen in the next two minutes”, Seoho agreed, “I think that’s more manageable, and way less anxiety inducing.”

Something clicked inside Seunghee’s mind. Her future self? She did not have any control over that, they were right. But the Seunghee that was right here, right now, she did have control of her actions. She just had to control herself for a day. And repeat that every day. Until the end of time. Even if it seemed like so much more work now, it had become much more manageable. Future Seunghee would worry about the days to come, while she would only worry for today.

Seunghee felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. The new perspective had given her some hope and inner peace.

“Thank you, guys. That really helped”, Seunghee smiled.

“I’m glad”, Youngjo patted the girl’s shoulder.

“Just invite us to the wedding”, Seoho winked.

“Yeah, sure, in a couple millennia I’ll ring you guys up”, she joked.

“We should get going now”, Youngjo pointed to the door.

“Take care”, Seunghee sent them off.

“See you soon, hopefully”, Seoho smiled softly before exiting.

After reuniting with the werewolves outside, they started running towards the forest and disappeared on it shadows. The fresh nature smell they have carried inside the cabin, still lingered. She wanted to enjoy it a little more, maybe run into the woods herself. However, she had something to do, and she was dying to carry it out.

※

Yooa hesitated in front of Mimi’s door. She wondered whether it was necessary for her to knock as the vampire would have already felt her presence. In the end, she mustered up all her courage and softly knocked on the wood.

“Come in”, Mimi replied.

Standing on the now open-door frame, Yooa could not look into the vampire’s eyes. The girl was sitting on the bed that was placed by the window, staring at the werewolves running towards the forest. It was okay for Yooa to stay behind, this was also her house after all, and she knew the path to the wolfpack by heart. She was safe in the forest, where she could run and roam freely.

“Hi”, she finally greeted her.

“You smell like them”, Mimi simply said.

Yooa felt a sudden rage grow inside of her. Of course, she smelled like them! She was a werewolf, they were also her family, the pack that had taken her in.

“You wanted to talk, so talk”, Yooa snarled.

“I told you I didn’t need anything from you”, the vampire replied in the same tone.

As always, the conversation was not going anywhere. At this point, Yooa was too tired of all the fighting and sassing. Would they never be able to chat without biting each other’s necks off? The werewolf was fed up with Mimi’s attitude, and although she knew she was as stubborn herself, at some point, one of them had to give in. So, she decided to be the bigger person.

“Look, Mimi”, she started, “I’m so tired of this”, she gestured to the literal and metaphorical space between them, “Is there something I can help you with?”

There it was. For once, not a hint of pride on her voice seemed to have softened the vampire’s attitude. The stiffness abandoned her shoulders, and in a more relaxed position, Mimi found the werewolves’ eyes.

“I just… I just wanted to know how you’ve been”, the vampire talked, “You’ve been out for a while so, I was worried.”

“I’m okay, no need to worry about me”, Yooa assured her.

“And how about those two guys from your wolfpack?”, she asked, “The ones that came with you to…”, her voice became a mere whisper, “To pick me up.”

“Yes, they are more than okay. Juyeon actually wanted to come and check on everyone, but we came for serious talk so…”, Yooa said.

“Only the alphas came”, Mimi finished.

“Right.”

“Not even death saves you from bureaucracy”, the vampire softly chuckled.

“Well, I am not actually dead, so…”, Yooa said jokingly.

However, the atmosphere got heavy again.

“I forgot not everyone has to sacrifice their beating heart to acquire immortality”, Mimi’s jaw was clenched.

Yooa’s heart broke into a million little pieces.

“Mimi, the fact that you are not technically alive does not make you any less of a person”, the werewolf tried to approach the vampire delicately.

“It literally does!”, Mimi raised her voice, “The blood I have in my veins is not mine!”

“Mimi…”, Yooa tried to speak again, to help her calm down.

“Get out!”, the vampire shouted, “I don’t want to see you ever again.”

Rage made Yooa’s blood boil once again, but she held it in in hopes she could still reconcile.

“Why do you always push me away?”

She could feel her voice crumbling down, without her realizing it, her eyes had been filled with tears. Mimi’s voice was as cold as ice when she spoke again.

“Because you remind me of all the things I cannot longer have. Now, go.”

“So, you are just going to live like that?”, Yooa was properly crying now, furious tears running down her cheeks.

“I am not living, Yooa. That is the whole point”, Mimi reminded her with a calm that infuriated the werewolf even more.

How could she just accept it? How could she not realize she was there, right in front of her, and that that was enough?

“Mimi, you are so much more than an unbeating heart”, the werewolf said before stomping out the room.

She ran down the stairs strongly wiping away her tears and exited the cabin while Hyojung screamed her name, asking her about what had happened. Yooa had already shapeshifted into a white wolf before she even had set foot into the forest. That was a dangerous move, transforming in plain sight, but nobody was going to hurt her so close to the cabin.

Like that, she ran. She had no destination in mind, however, she found herself undoing the way back home, to her pack. The closer she got, the stronger everyone’s scent got. That made them easy to find, which could turn out to be dangerous if some other unfriendly packs came close, but being together made them stronger. Still in her wolf form, she burst into a clearing where some tents had been set up. She wandered through it, looking for someone to comfort her. Not many people were home, probably most of them were hunting in the forest, or had gone to the nearby stream to wash up. Still, she found just the right person and sniffed the boy’s shirt. Eric always knew the right way to comfort her.

“Hey”, he greeted her, “You came back sooner than expected.”

As a response, Yooa lay on the grass, with her head between her paws.

“Oh, so… no talking?”, the boy asked, “That’s okay. I can transform and we can go chase some squirrels or something.”

Yooa buried her head on her paws even more and let out a soft cry.

“Okay, no squirrels either…”, Eric caressed his chin, “How about some scratches? I know a werewolf is no pet”, he assured Yooa when she complained with a grunt, “But they feel kinda good.”

Eric extended a hand towards the white wolf and waited for her permission, a slow bow of the head, to scratch Yooa’s head just behind the ears. And, bless the Moon, was the boy right! It felt damn good to be pet. She could understand why their ancestors had abandoned wilderness and chose to become the companions of humans.

“Your tail is wagging”, another voice perked out.

“Haknyeon!”, Eric was surprised to see his wolfpack member, “You came back already?”

“Yes, you know I’m quick to wash up”, Haknyeon replied with a smirk, “What’s up with Yooa? Why are you petting her?”

“I don’t know, she is down for some reason”, Eric shrugged.

“That’s no good”, Haknyeon nodded and started rubbing the white wolf’s back.

“How can we help you?”, Eric softly whispered.

Yooa let out a sound that resembled a sigh and finally reverted back to her human form.

“I don’t even know what I need help with”, she replied.

“Did something happen?”, Haknyeon asked her.

“I just got in an ugly fight with Mimi”, Yooa hugged her knees.

“Did she say mean things to you?”, Eric placed an arm around Yooa’s shoulders, comforting her.

Yooa just nodded and started sobbing silently, tears staining her face and falling to the grass. At least, the forest would thrive thanks to the werewolf’s sadness.

“Should we kick her ass?”, Haknyeon suggested.

“No”, Yooa pouted, “She probably needs more comforting than I do.”

“Then, how can we help _her_?”, Eric posed.

Yooa wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and an idea suddenly crossed her mind.

“Actually… there’s something that might work…”, she said.

“Okay, we’ll help you, but if Sangyeon finds out we helped a vampire we’ll deny everything”, Haknyeon quickly agreed.

“We’ll probably have to commit a crime…”, Yooa lowered her voice.

“Sounds fun!”, Eric’s face lit up with excitement.

“We need Kevin for that…”, Haknyeon caressed his chin.

“We actually do need him”, Yooa told them, “We are stealing a piano.”

“He’s gonna love that”, Eric nodded excitedly.

“Then let’s find him”, Yooa got up and fixed her clothes.

Eric and Haknyeon quickly followed behind. They had business to take care of.

※

Seunghee carried a tray up the stairs to Binnie’s room. She had asked Arin for help and had successfully prepared muffins without burning the kitchen down. Now she was bringing them to the witch. Every inch of her body telling her to run away from what she was planning on doing. Asking someone out was as scary as it was before dying, that definitely had not changed. Upon arriving in front of the witch’s room, she wondered once again whether or not it was a good idea. They were okay the way they were right now, why was it necessary for them to change the status? The answer was simple yet difficult to come to terms with. Seunghee was in love with Binnie. These past months she had arrived at that inevitable conclusion. She could not help it, she felt it on her bones. Her unbeating heart fluttered, as if trying to bring her back to life whenever Binnie was around. With that in mind, she knocked on the door.

A soft voice that melted the vampire replied. “You can come in.”

Binnie was lying on the bed, looking like the stuffing of the most delicious burrito in the world. No. Binnie was not food, Seunghee reminded herself. The witch’s eyes turned into crescents when she saw the vampire at the door.

“I brought breakfast”, Seunghee lifted the tray slightly.

“Thank you”, her voice was still hoarse.

The vampire approached the girl and placed the tray on the nightstand by the bed. She sat down while Binnie incorporated herself.

“Oh, muffins!”, the witch was delighted at the sight of the dessert.

“Arin helped me bake them”, Seunghee fidgeted with her T-shirt.

“I’m sure they’ll be good”, she said and proceeded to bite one of them.

Binnie closed her eyes to enjoy the flavor. She was so endearingly cute, Seunghee was about to lose her mind. Before she even realized, the vampire was already talking. She needed to get it out of her chest.

“Binnie”, she started, “You know you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, right?”

The girl opened her eyes wide while munching on the muffin.

“You still have a long life ahead of you, how do you know I’m the best?”, she joked

“Because I want to share that long life with you”, Seunghee replied.

Binnie almost choked when she heard those words but smiled reassuringly the instant she gulped down the food.

“It’s not like you have any other choice”, Binnie said.

“Even if I had it”, Seunghee got serious, “I wouldn’t want it any other way, Binnie.”

“Seunghee…”, the witch spoke softly, but was cut by Seunghee who continued talking.

“You know… I’ve been scared for so long… But my feelings for you just keep growing each day. I do not know whether or not I will hurt you in the future, if I will lose control of myself or not… Today I realized there’s no use in trying to predict the future”, Seunghee gulped down nervously, “I just have to make sure that I don’t hurt you for the next five minutes, that, I can manage”, the vampire gazed into Binnie’s eyes intensely, “I love you, Binnie. And there is no way I can take that back now”, she joked, making the witch chuckle softly, “So, I’ll live up to that. Forever. If you let me.”

“Forever it’s a big word”, Binnie held the vampire’s hand.

“I know”, Seunghee intertwined their fingers together.

“How do you know you won’t get tired of me?”, Binnie caressed Seunghee’s hand with her thumb.

“The same goes for you”, the vampire chuckled.

“ _Touché_.”

“So, what’s your answer?”, Seunghee nibbled on her lower lip.

Binnie stared into Seunghee’s eyes tenderly and spoke in a soft whisper that only the vampire could hear.

“You are everything I have ever wanted, Seunghee. How could I possibly say no to you?”, she smiled, “I love you. Even if it kills me, I will go to the end of the world with you. Sacred Morgan, we’ll probably live to see it!”, Binnie laughed, “What a wonderful sight to share with you.”

The witch pressed their foreheads together.

“My last breath is yours”, she added.

“Let me take another breath away then”, Seunghee said before landing her lips on Binnie’s.

As always, Binnie’s lips were soft. Even softer that morning on her bed. Her vanilla scent penetrated Seunghee’s nose. At this point, anyone would think she had gotten used to kissing the witch, but every time their lips classed together, new, and different sensations ran throughout the vampire’s body. Some days, like today, she would even feel like she was about to combust, her whole nervous system screaming she was on fire. Seunghee placed her hand behind Binnie’s ear, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss for a couple seconds before slightly separating from her.

“You taste very sweet”, Seunghee smiled.

“Because of the muffin”, Binnie grinned.

“I might have to bake muffins for you every day from now on.”

“I would love that.”

They stared into each other’s eyes once again, lost in their own world.

“You two are absolutely adorable.”

Both girls turned around to see Wooyoung munching on two muffins at the same time.

“Wooyoung!”, Binnie exclaimed, “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to be the first one to congratulate you two”, he pouted.

“Good, okay, you congratulated us, now _go_ ”, Seunghee ordered him.

“I don’t like your girlfriend”, Wooyoung told Binnie before disappearing into thin air.

“I’m sorry”, Binnie sighed.

“Don’t worry about it”, the vampire assured her, “We just have to deal with him for the rest of our lifes.”

“I could try turning him into a hamster”, Binnie suggested.

“No!”, Wooyoung’s head materialized right in front of them.

“You scared me!”, Binnie jumped on her seat.

“I’m sure he’ll find a way to annoy us even then”, Seunghee sighed, “He would make very loud squeaky sounds or run on the wheel at 3 A.M.”

“Exactly”, Wooyoung’s head nodded.

“You are just the worst”, Binnie pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I am a demon, dear. I am the best at being the worst”, he smirked.

“Okay, we get it, shoddy fuckboy”, the vampire shook her head.

“Now, I’ll leave you two to it”, Wooyoung winked an eye at them.

“See you never”, Seunghee replied.

“Oh dear… You have a tough life ahead”, he laughed before his head finally vanished. This time hopefully for real.

“I need a shower”, Binnie announced.

“Sure”, Seunghee was tired from the demon’s shenanigans.

“See you in a bit”, Binnie placed a soft peck on the vampire’s forehead and headed to the bathroom.

Seunghee got out the room feeling the most alive she had ever felt, even if she was dead now.

“If you hurt her, in any way, I will hunt you down and kill you in the most horrific of ways”, Wooyoung was outside the room, waiting for her.

“So, you do care about someone other than you?”, Seunghee raised an eyebrow at the demon.

“Sometimes”, he shrugged.

“That façade of yours bores me to the core”, the vampire rolled her eyes.

“We all build our walls our own way”, Wooyoung explained.

“Sure”, she sighed.

“Anyway, let’s get along”, the demon extended a hand towards Seunghee.

The vampire doubtfully shook it.

“Is this peace?”, she asked.

“For Binnie”, Wooyoung nodded.

“For Binnie”, Seunghee agreed.

“I gotta go now”, he said.

“Take care.”

Wooyoung lifted his chin and vanished.

Finally, some peace.


	2. Underneath the Moonlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the date of the werewolf ritual approaching, everyone is a little bit on edge. Moreover, their worst fears are confirmed when they find out the Mamamoo sect know what they are planning to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up taking longer than expected to complete this chapter, but as it is the last one that is actually about their present, I wanted to make it extra special, thus why it took longer. Also, I was not ready to let go of this story just yet. The second chapter of Dances with Wolves will be divided into two, but don't worry! It's already finished, I'll just upload the rest tomorrow morning when I finish editing because it turned out to be longer than what I expected as well. With that said, enjoy the first part of the final chapter of Dances with Wolves. This is the beginning of the end, thank you for sticking with me for this long. 
> 
> As always you can come scream at me on twitter (@jeonghxbit). Now, enjoy!

“Jaeyoung, you gotta push from there”, Juyeon’s face was contorted in a painful expression.

“Seungjun has to turn first!”, the boy replied, his face red because of the effort.

“I’m on it!”, Seungjun cried out.

“Guys, you are going to break it!”, Yooa exclaimed, worried.

“May the Moon look over you”, Kevin put his hands on a praying manner.

“You could be helping us?”, Juyeon reprimanded him.

“Please remind me why did I agree to this?” Hyojung sipped from a mug while looking at the bunch that was making a mess out of her living room.

“Because it will probably make Mimi happy”, Arin shrugged.

“What if it doesn’t?”, the deity asked.

“Then she’ll probably kill me”, Yooa sighed.

“I think she’ll kill you regardless”, Juyeon finally let out the breath he was holding.

“Done!”, Seungjun placed his hands on his hips, appreciating the job they had just finished doing.

Rearranging the living room to fit a white wall piano against the window had taken them the whole day. Yooa had carefully planned everything out. For two weeks, she had gone on the hunting for second hand pianos that were in a good enough condition for Kevin, a member of Sangyeon’s wolfpack with a keen eye for musical instruments, to refurnish without much effort. In the end, they had not need to commit a crime to obtain the piano as an old man was selling his old wall piano for a too good to be true price. Between Kevin and Jacob, they had taken care of the instrument as it was their child, and now it looked as good as new. Everyone inside the cabin agreed to it the moment Yooa told them about what she was planning. Seunghee would make sure that their blood scavenging would last more than usual, giving everyone enough time to get everything ready and surprise the vampire. Yooa still felt insecure about her idea, wondering whether it was okay for her to do such a thing based on a hunch she got about a story Mimi had told them in the darkness of a cell. The werewolf also felt as if she was pushing too hard through Mimi’s defense walls. She had built them for a reason yet unknown to her, but a reason after all. Yooa gulped down, anxious, expecting Mimi to blast her out the window. After all, the last thing the vampire had told her was she did not want to see Yooa ever again. Bringing her a piano was the last thing she would probably want Yooa to do, but there she was, polishing and dusting off the tiny bits of dust that had landed on the piano’s surface to make sure it looked as good as possible.

“You okay?”, Jiho approached her.

“I’m just nervous about her reaction” Yooa nibbled on her lower lip.

“Well, if she is not that little girl, Chan will put it to good use, right?”, the witch smiled at his demon boyfriend.

“You play the piano?”, Binnie asked him.

“More like I smash it”, he nodded.

“C’mon now! You used to play the piano so beautifully for mother”, Jiho chuckled.

“That was a long time ago”, Chan laughed beside her, and placing an arm around the witch’s shoulders, he added, “Besides, if you were to look at me, I would get nervous and mess up.”

Yooa was fascinated by how far the couple had gone. Now, they were even able to talk about things they used to struggle with not so long ago. Going to therapy had truly helped them come to terms with their trauma and pent up issues. Of course, the couple was still healing, and some days were better than others, but together they were fighting that dark cloud that lured over them.

Suddenly, a ruckus started outside of the cabin, and not a second later, Mimi bursted through the door.

“What is Yooa’s wolfpack doing outsi-“, she stopped midsentence when she realised she was not alone in the living room.

Silence reigned upon her arrival. None knew how to react as they were expecting the vampire to come much later.

“What does this mean?”, the vampire raised an eyebrow.

“Surprise!”, Binnie exclaimed while pointing to the piano by the window.

Mimi’s eyes landed on the instrument and they opened wide.

“What is this?”, the tone of her voice showed her surprise.

“A piano!”, the witch stated the obvious.

“I see that”, Mimi replied, this time more sharply, “Why is there a piano in the living room?”

“For you to play?”, she posed, her voice getting smaller with every word.

“I don’t play the piano”, Mimi’s eyebrows were so close they almost merged at the top of her nose.

“But that story you told us…”, Juyeon intervened.

He regretted speaking the moment he opened his mouth as Mimi’s stare became a glare that pierced directly through Yooa.

“Is this your doing?”, Mimi asked with a calm and cold voice.

The werewolf gulped down.

“I jus-“, Yooa started explaining herself.

“I thought I told you I did not need anything from you.”

The previously joyous atmosphere had turned as cold as ice.

“Mimi, please… The girl from the story was you, right?”, Yooa insisted.

“That girl is long dead”, Mimi snarled.

“Then why is she in front of me?”, the werewolf swipped away the tears that were flooding her eyes.

“Yooa…”, Binnie tried to intercede.

“No”, Yooa rejected the witch, “I’m tired of all this, Mimi. Why do you keep up this front? We are your family. You can trust us, we won’t judge you.”

Silence dawned once again in the living room, only interrupted by Yooa’s sobbing. She hated when she became emotional when having an argument. It made her feel like she was losing her temper, but she could not help but to cry when Mimi gave her such a cold shoulder.

“You are no family of mine”, the vampire simply replied.

Yooa tried to control her tears to no avail.

“You are right”, she agreed, “You are not supposed to love family the way I love you.”

Then, she proceeded to run once again. Run away from Mimi. From those feelings of her that would never get through the cold vampire’s heart.

※

“Shouldn’t someone go after her?”, Seunghee asked.

“Yooa won’t get lost in the forest”, Juyeon sighed.

After Yooa had left the room, leaving them all speechless after her sudden love confession, Mimi had gone up the stairs and hidden herself inside her room. Jiho had tried talking to her, but the vampire would not respond.

“Did anyone know about it?”, Binnie posed.

“A werewolf in love with a vampire?”, Seungjun snorted, “Even if she told us, we would have laughed at her face.”

“Why do werewolves and vampires hate eachother so much?”, Seunghee was tired of not knowing the reasoning behind this issue.

“You do not know?”, Jaeyoung stood up, “What your kind did to ours for centuries?”

“She’s been a vampire for less than a year!”, Binnie defended Seunghee, “How is she supposed to know?”

“Jaeyoung, calm down”, Seungjun asked the bigger and scarier looking one to sit down.

“Basically, vampires used to hunt our kind in our most vulnerable state”, Juyeon explained, “Our pack and Seungjun’s even experienced it first-hand.”

“What do you mean?”, Seunghee wanted to know.

“During the soul-linking ritual”, Kevin went on, “Our human soul merges with a wolf one, this process takes merely a couple minutes, but during this time, we are neither human nor a werewolf, we are just a defenseless soul with no body.”

“Vampires have always been jealous of the fact that we do not have to give up life to acquire immortality, so they decided we should experience death in some way”, Juyeon gritted his teeth.

“So they started killing you?”, Seunghee was horrified.

“We became prey”, Jaeyoung was angry even thinking about it, “We lost one of our pack like that.”

“You know, before we become werewolves, we need to be friends, brothers…”, Juyeon explained, “Losing someone so close to you in such a way…”

“Some of the kids still have nightmares”, Kevin finished it off.

“That’s just so…”, Seunghee could not find the right words, she was truly shocked by the news.

“The worst part is that the AAP knows this happened, but still didn’t do anything about it”, Jaeyoung spit, “They don’t care.”

“That’s horrible”, Binnie took a hand to her chest.

“The Angelical Armed Police is a corrupted institution”, Seungjun sighed, “Even if they helped us a couple months ago with those vampires, that doesn’t make up for the centuries of pain we have had to endure because of their lack of interest.”

Seunghee nodded, agreeing with the pack. They had the right to be angry, the right to not want anything to do with the angels. But they still had to deal with them in the upcoming hunting as Seoho had requested to have a checkup. Seunghee could not even imagine how much that would hurt their pride. And for herself, she could not even start fathoming the pain her kind had caused. She had realized just now that there was much more to this new world she had been introduced to that met the eye. Seunghee felt the need to apologize and make up for hundreds of years of pain, even if she had not been directly involved.

“I’m so sorry”, Seunghee spoke, “I did not know anything about this.”

“It’s not your fault”, Juyeon softly smiled, “As Binnie said, you have been transformed just recently so, it’s only natural.”

“Still…”, the vampire insisted.

“Seunghee, you alone can’t make up for what we have endured”, Seungjun firmly said, “So, don’t even try to go to any kind of extent for us.”

“We know you are not like that”, Juyeon assured her with a soft pat on the shoulder.

“Don’t console me, I’ll feel even worse”, Seunghee chuckled.

“Okay, enough of sad and gruesome stories”, Kevin clapped, “We should get going, I’ll tell Jacob and Eric outside.”

“Yes, our job here is done”, Seungjun agreed.

“Yooa is probably back home too”, Juyeon said, “We’ll send her back when she’s calmed down.”

“We’ll wait for her then”, Binnie sighed.

The werewolves went out the house and headed towards the forest, their figures quickly disappearing in its shadows.

※

Mimi ran through the woods, following a clear trace of Yooa’s smell. The second the werewolf had gone out the house, the vampire had become confused about what had just happened. At first, she had run to her room, and there she had walked up and down the room, wondering, biting her nails and thinking. Had Yooa just confessed to her? In front of everyone? And most importantly, how did she feel about it? Many feelings that Mimi had long ago forgotten about had stirred inside her heart. That was an usual happening when she spent time with Yooa. The werewolf would make her feel things… Mimi was not sure about what she felt, but she would always come to the same horrible conclusion: it was a lie, she was dead. She could not actually experience any of it. That was a life not meant for her. That is why she ended up pushing everyone and their beating hearts, their faces full of life, away from her. She was jealous, of course, how could she not be jealous when she was reminded everyday of the things she had lost?

Yooa’s smell got stronger and the vampire slowed down. The werewolf was close, that, she could tell.

“Why did you follow me?”, a voice asked from above.

Mimi looked up to see Yooa sitting on a high tree branch, staring at her from above while swinging her legs.

“I wanted to talk to you”, the vampire simply replied.

“Normally, when someone runs away to the forest, they want to be left alone”, Yooa informed her.

“And you really think I could leave you alone after what happened?”, Mimi raised an eyebrow.

“Well, knowing your history, I assumed so.”

And there it was. The wall. As impassable as ever. Both Mimi and Yooa had taken plenty of time to build their own around their hearts. The illusion of these walls breaking was just that, a mere fantasy. It could not ever happen, not between the two of them. They were too far apart.

“Yooa…”, Mimi sighed, “Can we talk? For once?”

“I have given you plenty of opportunities to talk already”, the werewolf snorted.

“Then, if you don’t want to talk, just listen”, the vampire spoke softly, “Okay?”

Yooa did not even flinch, but she did not run away either, so the vampire took it as a signal to start speaking. This time she was going to be real, no half-measures. She was going to pour her heart out, or at least what was left of it, right that instant.

“You were right. As always”, Mimi conceded, “I was that little girl”, she confessed, “I used to play the piano before I became what I am now. Ever since that fateful day in which I died and lost my soul, I have not found it in me to play it again”, Mimi stopped and took a deep breath before continuing, “I just don’t feel like I can play it, you know? I… I have no soul, Yooa. I am dead. I…”, the vampire looked directly into Yooa’s eyes, her voice a whisper, “I am _death_. I have brought death upon people, Yooa. I have killed to feed myself. I’m but a miserable vampire with cold hands and an even colder heart.

“After I became what I am now I tried to run my fingers through the piano tiles, hoping the familiar music would awaken something within me, even if it was just for a little bit I wanted to feel something, but instead I felt them tinting red, Yooa. How can I play the piano with these hands that are stained with blood?

“Eventually, the sect that not too long ago threatened and almost managed to eradicate the plague I am to the world found me. They nurtured me, taught me the ways. And I killed more. It got to the point it was addicting, sucking the life out of people. For an instant, I felt alive myself. This went on until the night Hyojung offered me a home. She said I did not need to kill. So, I stopped. I met you, and Jiho, and Binnie, and Arin. It was amazing. You were all so alive… And I wasn’t. I am not, and I will never be alive. I am a killer, Yooa. Can you still love me?”

The werewolf did not respond immediately, instead, she carefully climbed down the tree and slowly approached the vampire.

“Do you think your hands are the only ones stained with blood?”, her voice, as cold as Mimi had ever heard it, sent shivers down her spine.

“I have lived plenty more than you”, Yooa spoke, “My ledger is gushing red, Mimi. Nothing that you have done could surprise me in any way.”

“I’m a monster, Yooa”, Mimi insisted.

“Do you think I don’t know what you are?”, Yooa roared, “Your people have killed my people for centuries. I know what vampires are capable of. But you are different.”

“I am not.”

“How many vampires have given up on drinking fresh blood out of still alive people, their screams begging for mercy piercing through the air?”, Yooa posed.

Mimi did not know what to reply to that.

Yooa sighed and walked back to the tree she had just come down from. “Mimi, I know you have tortured yourself for centuries, thinking that not having a soul makes you unworthy and uncapable of love. But, let me tell you that, for those many centuries that you believed yourself not deserving of love, I have loved you. And I will continue to do so.”

The werewolf let herself lean her back on the tree and looked into Mimi’s eyes.

“You said you are a monster, well, by your definition, I am also one. I don’t really care how many people you have killed. What I care about is _you_ ”, Yooa pointed her index finger at the vampire, “You are capable of amazing things, I have seen it. And I would love for you to realize that. However, if it makes you uncomfortable, I will just move out the cabin. Hyojung won’t like it, but she’ll understand.”

“Yooa, you don’t have to move out”, Mimi replied.

“Then… what do you want me to do?”

The vampire thought about the question. She was still unsure of how she felt about Yooa’s feelings. Her mind was still trying to grasp the concept of being loved after such a long time. She had forgotten what it meant and what you did when that happened. All those years of self-loathing had taken their toll on the vampire. She no longer believed in herself.

In the depths of her mind, she sometimes remininsced about the person she used to be. So cheerful, so full of life and passion, hopeful for the future and what it could have in stock for her. And then, it all came falling down. Destiny had a twisted way of umpromptly stomping into your way. Mimi came face to face with it, and she got hurt. She lost _everything_ she had. The vampire fell into the darkness and let it consume her. She felt like she somehow deserved it.

However, as with any other illness, reality was that absolutely none blamed the patient. Mimi had just come to that realization. Even if she found herself in the pits of her mind, believing all those ugly things about herself, somehow, people still managed to see the good inside her.

She was loved. Whether she thought of herself of lovable or not, the truth is that she was. And when it hit her, tears rushed to her eyes. In the middle of the forest, a silent sobbing took over the vampire and, unable to hold herself together anymore, she fell on her knees and cried. Her body getting numb, she could still feel the warm embrace of Yooa’s arms around her, consoling her. The werewolf craddled her in her arms and softly sushed her. Mimi cried for a long time, all those tears she had been wanting to cry were finally escaping her body. After the vampire had calmed down, long after the sun had set, Yooa’s hands numb because of all the caressing she had done to Mimi, she had found an answer for Yooa’s question.

“Yooa… will you teach me to love again?”

That was what she wanted the werewolf to do so desperately.

“Oh, dear”, Yooa’s eyes sparkled with wet tears, “I will.”

The werewolf hugged Mimi as close and tightly as she could. The vampire could feel Yooa’s heartbeat on her eardrums, and for a moment, she closed her eyes and dreamed for it to be hers.

※

When the night fell, Mimi and Yooa came back home together. None knew when the vampire had gone out, but the important thing was that they seemed to have reconciled. Seunghee had no idea what might have happened between them, so she made it a point to ask them later, but not today. Beside the warmth of the fire place, the immortal girls finally enjoyed a cup of tea all together.

“No boys allowed”, Jiho had told to a pouting but understanding Chan.

Sitting on the sofa or splattered on the floor, the girls laughed and joked, avoiding harsh topics and leaving them for another day. Whatever it was, it could wait.

“I can’t believe you two finally got together”, Jiho teased Seunghee and Binnie.

The later turned so red she was probably making up for the lack of blood in the vampire’s system. Seunghee somehow wanted to run away from the conversation, but she knew her friends meant no harm.

“Well, it was hard, but I mustered up the courage”, she chuckled.

“I’m sure my tips helped you greatly”, Hyojung smirked while sipping from her mug.

“Hyojung, that couldn’t have possibly help anybody”, Arin sighed.

“Didn’t it help with that sylph Hyojung mentioned?”, Seunghee posed.

“Yes! It did”, Hyojung confirmed while Arin pretended she did not know who they were talking about, “And it was quite a success.”

“Are we talking about who I think we are talking about?”, Yooa excitedly spoke, “Soobin?”

“Wait, I’m lost”, Jiho wanted to get a piece at the conversation, “Who is Soobin?”

“Arin’s ex boyfriend”, Yooa explained.

All the girls turned into the fairy’s direction, waiting for an explanation.

“Well, we were _not_ dating”, Arin started.

“They were”, Hyojung nodded.

“It was not official!”, the fairy got redder by the second.

“So, you had a thing with that sylph or not?”, Binnie asked.

“We… well… we hung out from time to time”, Arin vaguely replied.

“They were dating”, Mimi agreed with the deity.

“μα Δια...”, the fairy complained in a language Seunghee did not understand.

“He was such a handsome sylph”, Yooa went on, “All the nymphs were head over hills for him. But he only had eyes for our Arin.”

“That’s right, the boy would always come to the court, asking if she was free”, Hyojung reminisced, “I saw them many times taking a stroll through the gardens…”

“Why do I feel like I’m missing out on something?”, Jiho lifted an eyebrow, “What nymphs? What court?”

Hyojung, Yooa and Arin looked at each other as if they shared a secret. And they probably did, as nervous as they seemed. The rest of the girls stared at them in confusion, expecting an answer.

Arin hawked. “That’s a story for another time.”

“That’s right, it’s getting late”, Hyojung rushed to agree, “We should head to bed.”

“But…”, Seunghee tried to keep the conversation going to no avail.

“Besides, tomorrow those damned angels are coming”, Yooa insisted, “We should be fresh.”

“It’s already tomorrow?”, Binnie asked.

“Yes, the meeting I arranged is tomorrow morning in here”, the deity nodded.

“Good night, then”, Jiho got up and picked up some of the tea cups.

“Rest well, all of you”, Mimi smiled softly.

“You too.” “Good night, girls.” “Sleep well.” “Sweet dreams, everyone.”

Seunghee went up the stairs while holding Binnie’s hand. On the first floor, where Binnie’s room was, the vampire stopped and accompanied her to the door.

“Good night”, she said and kissed the witch’s forehead.

When she was about to go back to her own room on the floor above, Binnie pulled her by the tshirt.

“Sleep with me tonight”, the witch’s voice trembled nervously, making the vampire melt.

Seunghee could not posibly say no to such an offering.

“Okay, let’s cuddle then”, she entered the room.

Binnie sat down on the bed and softly patted the spot next to her. Seunghee sat beside her and laid down. Like that, face to face, Seunghee put an arm around the witch’s waist, pulling her closer. Binnie’s response consisted on softly placing her head on top of Seunghee’s shoulder.

“Good night”, the vampire whispered.

“I love you”, Binnie mumbled.

“I love you too”, Seunghee replied softly.

Embracing each other, comfortable in the arms of the other, they fell asleep with a warm fuzzy feeling lingering in their hearts.

※

Seunghee was woken up by a soft thud. When she opened her eyes, she saw Wooyoung standing in the middle of Binnie’s room pancing around nervously.

“What are you doing here?”, the vampire whispered, hoping not to wake up Binnie.

“I came looking for emotional support”, Wooyoung rushedly whispered back.

“Emotional support?”, Seunghee was confused.

“Remember that angel? San?”, the demon posed while checking out the window.

“The pretty one that chained us up?”

Wooyoung nodded. “He is here. With his superior and some of the other angels from the squad.”

“Well, yeah. Hyojung called them”, Seunghee raised an eyebrow.

“But… he sent me a mental message…”, Wooyoung gulped down, “He wants to talk.”

“Jeez, Wooyoung, he wants to talk, not suck your dick”, Binnie muttered, apparently she had been woken up as well by the chattering.

“That’s the problem!”, Wooyoung pointed out worriedly, “He wants to have a _serious_ talk.”

“Maybe he just wants to apologize?”, Seunghee suggested.

“I don’t know but it doesn’t sit right well with me”, the demon tilted his head.

“Just don’t make a scene”, Binnie begged while streching.

“I never make scenes!”, Wooyoung gasped.

Binnie rose an eyebrow in silence and did not reply to him.

“Let’s get dressed and meet our visitors, Arin will need some help brewing the tea”, the witch said.

“Good idea”, Seunghee agreed.

Around fifteen minutes later the girls and demon came down the stairs. In the living room, an elegantly dressed bunch of people were sitting at the table, enjoying some tea and chatting with Hyojung.

“Ah, good morning, girls!”, the deity greeted them and then turned towards a black haired man, “This is the other vampire I was telling you about, Seonghwa.”

“Seems like your sort of reintegration program is working”, he smiled.

“I have told you many times it is possible”, Hyojung insisted.

“It’s my superiors that won’t listen”, Seonghwa sighed, “They always say, ‘show us more evidence’”, he mimicked a deep voice, “And when I do show them they are like we are too busy right now to look into it.”

“Changing the system from inside is such a slow process”, Hyojung patted the man’s shoulder.

“Tell me about it!”, Seonghwa rolled his eyes, “Whenever we are in patrol everyone runs away, scared for their lifes, when we are just _actually_ trying to help.”

“The AAP has done more bad than good”, another of the angels spoke up softly, Seunghee remembered her to be Umji, the one that had healed the hybrids.

“We just have to make up for it”, San nodded, but he was looking to Wooyoung who stood by the staircase, as if he was talking to him.

“And, what is it that the AAP has done?”, Seunghee asked while taking a seat.

“The list is too long”, Seonghwa sighed while vaguely gesturing, “But it includes turning their backs on the werewolves when they were being slaughtered, stigmatizing the vampires instead of helping them reintegrate, not intervening in the fae wars, the crusades…”

“We could go on all day, trust me”, Umji assured the vampire.

“And what makes you any different?”, Wooyoung snarled.

“Well, we are no different”, Seonghwa simply replied, “We are still part of the AAP, but we are doing what we think is right, me and my squad.”

Wooyoung did not reply, instead, he raised an eyebrow and proceeded to check his nails, seemingly uninterested in the conversation.

“And where is everyone else?”, Seunghee was a little disappointed to not see Jeonghan with them, she wanted the angel to see that she had taken his advice well.

“Eunha, Yunho and Seungkwan stayed back to cover up for us in the headquarters”, Seonghwa explained, “What we are doing right now is actually not approved by the higherups…”

“We are risking our wings here”, Umji fidgeted.

“And our swords”, San added.

“You and your swords…”, Wooyoung muttered.

San glared at him, but did not say anything. At least not outloud.

“And how about Jeonghan?”, Seunghee pressed.

“He’ll be coming later, he had some business to resolve with a fae friend of his”, Seonghwa said, “But he should be coming any moment now…”

Their conversation came to a halt as Yooa came down the stairs.

“Ah! Miss Yooa, is a pleasure to meet you”, Seonghwa stood up gracefully, bowing his head to the werewolf. The rest of the angels imitated him and greeted her in the same manner.

“Good morning”, Yooa simply replied, “You can take a seat.”

“Thanks for trusting us with this”, Seonghwa smiled.

“I still don’t trust the institution you pledge loyalty to”, Yooa pointed, “But I trust your personal values are above those of your beloved AAP.”

“And they are indeed”, the angel nodded.

“I hope so”, the werewolf sighed while sitting down at the table herself.

“When is your pack coming?”, Hyojung asked.

“Sooner than later”, Yooa replied.

As she spoke, they heard a knock on the door. Arin quickly approached the door to greet the newcomer. Jeonghan stepped into the cabin and rushed to Seonghwa’s side to whisper something into his ear. Seonghwa’s eyebrows furrowed, he definitely did not like what he was being told.

“Are you sure about that?”, he asked to the other angel.

Jeonghan nodded in response. “Yes, sir.”

“That complicates the matter…”, Seonghwa brought a hand to his face and became deep in thought for a second.

“Is something the matter?”, Hyojung worriedly asked.

“Rumor has been spread that a werewolf ritual will take place”, Jeonghan spoke, “We fear it may have reached the wrong ears…”

“The Mamamoo vampire sect…”, Yooa realized.

“Exactly”, Seonghwa confirmed.

“There’s no way they would stay still after you stole their precious pets from them”, Jeonghan said.

“The ritual must not take place then”, Umji gasped.

“If they already know, they’ll come for the kids sooner or later”, San intervened, “It would be better to perform it so that they can defend themselves.”

“How could they have find out?”, Yooa wondered.

“We presume the dryads populating the forest must have spread the information”, Jeonghan explained, “And, of course, the seelies just told everyone that wanted to hear.”

“Those damned faes…”, Yooa’s hand hardened into a fist.

“Thankfully, Josh-”, Jeonghan coughed and corrected himself, “my contact told me that the actual full moon date is unknown.”

“So they know it’s happening, just not when…”, Yooa muttered, deep in thought.

“I believe you should discuss this matter with your pack”, Seonghwa pointed a hand to the werewolf.

“Good thing they arrived”, Hyojung smiled.

A second later, they heard a soft knocking on the door. Once again, the fairy opened it to greet the werewolves this time. Sangyeon confidently walked in, followed by Hyojin and an angry looking Soyeon. After them, Seoho and the rest of the hybrids came in, as well as Juyeon and Seungjun who had probably tagged along.

The angels stood up to greet them with respect.

“You might want to sit down”, Seonghwa spoke, “We have bad news.”


	3. Underneath the Moonlight

“There’s no way we’ll allow that!”, Soyeon insisted.

An hour had passed, and the werewolves were still arguing over Seonghwa’s suggestion. The angel had offered to provide protection for the werewolves-to-be during their ritual in case the vampires came to attack them.

“Soyeon, think about it!”, Hyojin begged once again, “They have assured us it’ll be under our own terms.”

“And we’ll honor it”, Seonghwa assured them for the eleventh time.

“We can’t trust them, Hyojin”, Soyeon yelled, “Have you forgotten how they let us die? Have you forgotten about Minseok?”

Hyojin looked visibly hurt at the mention of the name. Seungjun stood up to confront Soyeon. “You have no right to bring his name up.”

Soyeon glared at him but quickly switched her target. “And what about you, Sangyeon? The vampires killed Hyunjun, and you are considering the offer of the people that laughed while his body was still warm?”

Sangyeon remained silent, still deep in thought. He was the only one that had still not given a clear answer to the angel. Hyojin had quickly agreed, scared that something might happen to the new boys, and Soyeon was furiously opposing it. Yooa had also expressed her conformity with the idea of having the angel squad as an extra protection. Nevertheless to say, Seoho, Youngjo and everyone were more than happy to accept the angel’s offer.

“But remember who helped you get back on track”, Soyeon continued pressing, “It was us, your kind. The werewolves”, then she glared at the angels in the living room, “We are more than okay by ourselves.”

“Enough, Soyeon”, Sangyeon finally spoke.

“But-”, she tried to speak once again.

“I have made my decision”, he announced.

Everyone expectantly stared at the werewolf, awaiting his answer.

“You must not speak about a single thing you’ll witness in the forest”, Sangyeon spoke, “Our sacred ritual is our most precious tradition, and we’ll like for it to remain as secretive as it has always been.”

“May I lose my wings”, Seonghwa bowed.

The rest of the angels bowed with his superior.

“Then, I agree”, he said, “I accept your protection offer. Prove to me you mean no harm to us. I’m placing my trust on you.”

“I will honor this deal”, Seonghwa extended a hand towards the werewolf.

Sangyeon accepted it and shook it.

“Okay then”, Soyeon spoke, “You decided to sell us.”

“Soyeon, this is our best chance at surviving”, Seoho spoke softly.

“Are we not enough?”, the girl asked him.

“It’s because I have seen the power those four vampires have, because I have experienced it on my own flesh, that I know nothing will be enough to keep them from getting what they want”, Seoho explained.

“Our dead bodies…”, Dongju’s voice was a mere whisper when he spoke for the first time that morning.

Juyeon patted the youngest’s shoulder.

“We won’t let that happen”, he assured him.

“I’m sorry but I don’t think I’ll be able to cooperate”, Soyeon spoke.

“What are you saying?”, Hyojin asked.

“From now on, our packs will not be one anymore”, she said, “Me and my girls will go our own way.”

“Soyeon, don’t be like that”, Seungjun tried to convince her.

“It was nice while it lasted”, Soyeon was firm on her decision, “But we have had enough. We obviously don’t match anymore. Our bonds are too damaged.”

“I would have to agree with that”, Jeonghan confirmed.

“I don’t want to take any part on this”, the werewolf approached the cabin door, “Goodbye.”

None stopped her from exiting the house. From the windowpane, Seunghee could see her walk into the forest. After a couple minutes of silence, Hyojung cleared her throat.

“Should we proceed with the promised examination?”, she asked.

“Sure thing”, Umji smiled softly, “Where could we do it?”

“I’m sure you’ll find the greenhouse to be a charming spot”, Hyojung guided the angel to the back of the house, where her greenhouse and sacred temple was.

“You can come in one by one”, Umji told the boys before following the deity.

※

“Everything seems to be okay”, Umji informed, “There are no traces of vampire blood in their systems, and their overall health is ideal. I would say it’s safe to perform the ritual in their state.”

“Also, their bond is already quite good”, Jeonghan added, “I believe that would not pose any problems.”

“We should really speed up the preparations”, Hyojin said.

“The next full moon is in only a couple days!”, Sangyeon reminded him.

“We cannot wait until the next moon cycle is complete”, Hyojin insisted.

“We are ready”, Youngjo intervened.

“Sangyeon, we have to do it now”, Juyeon placed his hand on his wolfpack leader’s shoulder.

The werewolf lowered his head, accepting the facts.

“We can count with your cooperation?”, he asked to Hyojung.

“I’ll make sure the forest behaves”, the deity assured him, “No dryad will get on their way, even more, I’ll ask them to be on guard and inform us if they see anything suspicious.”

“We’ll also help”, Binnie offered, “I’m not a fighter, but Jiho and I could prepare some protective enchantments.”

“Chan and I, we could be in charge of covering the perimeter, demons can move fast”, Wooyoung added.

“I’d do anything to help my friends”, Seunghee nodded while softly smiling towards Seoho.

“We’ll count on you too then”, Hyojin smiled, slightly relieved.

“I’ll come up with a strategy and get back to you as soon as I can”, Seonghwa said.

“We’ll be at your disposal”, Sangyeon bowed his head.

“Then…”, Seonghwa also lowered his head and made a gesture to the rest of his squad.

San looked back before getting out the cabin, obviously wanting to talk to Wooyoung, but the demon had already vanished into thin air, evading the conversation.

“San?”, Jeonghan called out for him when he did not join them.

“Sorry…”, the angel apologized and quickly approached them.

Seunghee was mesmerized by what happened next.

Pure and blinding rays of sunshine sprung from the angels’ backs. Slowly, a pair of wings made of light appeared and started to softly flap around each angel. Seunghee had been expecting to see fluffy white feathers, but the sight surprised her. The angel’s wings were more similar to those of Arin’s: delicate and transparent. However, the angels’ were even more sparkly, creating rainbows wherever their light was reflected. It was the most beautiful thing Seunghee had ever seen. Soon, those wings beat and propelled the angels up to the sky. They got lost in the clouds and disappeared from the vampire’s sight, but she could never forget the beauty of what she had just witnessed.

Hyojung, by her side, let out an appreciative sigh. “No matter how many times I see those wings of theirs I still become awe struck…”

“Where does the idea of the white feathers come from then?”, Seunghee posed.

“That’s a long story…”, Hyojung smiled mysteriously.

※

During the next two days, the house became as hectic as ever, people coming in and out almost every second. Seonghwa had quickly come up with a plan that would most likely prevent them from getting killed. He had divided everyone into small defensive units whose plan was to protect Seoho and the rest until they were able to join the hypothetical fray. They will set two magical perimeters around the clear where the ritual would start, a smaller one around the main area where the boys will hunt and a bigger one that would give them enough time to prevent anyone from disturbing them. Outside the first perimeter, four squads, leaded by an angel each, would position themselves in the cardinal directions, and in between the two magical barriers, the werewolves would roam, ready to aid any of the squads if needed. Seunghee had the bad luck of being positioned on the west squad, alongside Wooyoung and San. She just prayed that whatever the two men had to resolve; they did not choose to fix it during that night. Luckily, she did not need to worry too much about Binnie. She would be in the very same clear where the ritual would take place, far away from the fight. Seonghwa had settled that he, Umji and Seungkwan would take care of that last defensive point alongside the two alphas, Sangyeon and Hyojin, and a very young werewolf named Eric that was told he was going to become some kind of assistant, but truth was Sangyeon and every member of his pack did not want him to get even the slightest bit close to any of the vampires. The boys had not disclosed the reason why they wanted to protect their youngest so badly, but Seunghee could imagine it had to do with the attack they have suffered when they were performing their own ritual.

The details of said ritual were still a mystery, not that Seunghee wanted to unveil them, but the werewolves talked very secretively about it, so the vampire could not figure out the whole puzzle out. Hyojin had given enough information for them to know that they could not interrupt the process in any way, for that reason, Seonghwa had decided that only the werewolves would be roaming through the forest, so that if they encountered the new boys by any chance, they would know what to do. Sangyeon was very pleased to hear this, but still insisted that Seonghwa placed some werewolves outside the barrier, they were good fighters, and the idea was to stop the sect before they could even smell their prey. So, like that, the squads had been formed. On the opposite direction of Seunghee, Eunha, who carried a beautiful and elegant rapier, would lead Jiho and Chan. On the north, a reconciled Mimi and Yooa would join a very nervous Yunho, who, although he carried the biggest sword Seunghee had ever seen, a longsword as she had been told, had informed everyone this would be the first time he would engage in actual combat, which did not relieve his team members in the very least. On the other part of the forest, the south squad was formed by two werewolves, Juyeon and Seungjun, and Jeonghan’s daggers. The vampire had seen him practice with them at the back of the house, and the angel did not miss a target.

Seunghee had approached him cautiously. “Hello.”

“I know what you are going to tell me”, the angel continued throwing his dangerous weapons.

“You probably saw”, Seunghee scratched the back of her neck.

“I’m happy for you”, Jeonghan smiled at the vampire.

“Thank you”, she said.

“You are the living proof that reintegration is more than possible”, Jeonghan added, “If only we could take you to the headquarters and show you around…”

“Like a parade?”, Seunghee chuckled.

“Oh dear, but it would be the most beautiful parade”, the angel sighed dreamily.

“I will consider it”, the vampire said.

“What?”, Jeonghan missed a target for the first time.

“When all this ritual thing is over, I could go for a stroll to your headquarters”, Seunghee repeated.

“That would be very nice of you”, the angel flashed her the most graceful of smiles.

With that promise in mind, she had arrived that very night to the clear that would be their very own headquarters for the day. The moon had almost reached its zenith and the flames of a bonfire danced captivatingly in the middle of a clear, deep inside the forest. They had all reunited there to begin the ritual. Hyojin took a step forward and cleared his throat.

“This is not the soul-linking ritual we are used to, but precautions had been taken accordingly to the danger of the situation”, he spoke, “Today we’ll welcome six new members to the clan.”

The werewolves clapped and cheered for them. However, when Hyojin made a gesture, everyone became silent in an instant.

“We’ll proceed with the offerings for the Moon and Hunt Goddess, our mistress and sacred Artemis, may she guard you and protect you”, the werewolf spoke with reverence and made a gesture to the soon-to-be-werewolves.

Seoho first, he dropped something into the bonfire, causing the flames to change colors and shape. They became a rich royal blue that moved gracefully, it seemed as if the fire was luring them in as Youngjo followed Seoho and threw something to it as well. Like him, Leedo and then Hwanwoong dropped something too. Only when Keonhee approached the pyre did Seunghee notice what they were throwing: their old clothes they were wearing back when they lived with the vampires. They were literally throwing their old selves into the fire, burning their painful memories, the smoke taking their hopes for the future to the Moon. Seunghee wished for their prayers to be heard. When Dongju had dropped his clothes and joined the rest of his members, Hyojin spoke again.

“Now, go run, join your bodies and minds into one. Be one with each other, for that is the way of the clan. When you are back you will not only be werewolves, but you’d also be a family. May the Moon guide your steps.”

“May we turn into stars”, the six boys exclaimed in unison.

Then everyone looked at Hyojung, who took a step forward and rose her hands to the sky.

“Sacred Artemis guide these boys who will join you in the eternal hunting. May they acquire the eternal privilege of roaming the forests”, she then looked down to the boys and spoke in an ancient language, “καλα θήρα.”

And with that, they entered the forest. For a second, everyone remained silent, still taken aback from the solemnity of the ritual. However, Seonghwa was quick to break the spell.

“To your battle stations”, he ordered.

Seunghee quickly arrived to Wooyoung’s side, who teleported her and San to their location. Once they had arrived, they could see how a faint halo engulfed the forest behind them.

“Jiho’s barrier…”, Seunghee muttered.

“Now we wait”, San said while sitting down on a nearby rock.

“Hopefully, they haven’t found out we rushed the preparations”, Wooyoung sighed.

“I trust none has run their mouth…”, the angel threw a side glance at the demon.

‘Here we go’, Seunghee thought to herself while rolling her eyes.

“What are you implying?”, Wooyoung fell into the trap.

“I’m just saying you have a habit of speaking too much with strangers”, San shrugged.

“You jelly?”, the demon cooed.

“Yeah”, San simply admitted.

The angel left the vampire speechless. She was not expecting that sincere comeback. Apparently, neither was Wooyoung, who opened his eyes in surprise and took a step back.

“What are you saying?”, the demon’s voice showed how shocked he was.

“I just-”, San got up to approach Wooyoung, but Seunghee raised an arm to stop them.

She had heard a faint noise and needed them to shut up, but Wooyoung was not cooperating.

“Seunghee! We are having a conversation right now!”, he complained.

“SH!”, she shushed and took a hand to her ears.

She listened in silence to the forest noises for a couple seconds.

“Don’t be so paranoid”, Wooyoung dismissed the vampire just before a loud cracking noise, closer than ever, resonated.

“What was that?”, San asked.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out for the past five minutes”, Seunghee whispered angrily.

“A rabbit maybe?”, Wooyoung suggested.

“A rabbit, really?”, San mocked him.

“You were confessing your love for me a second ago and now back to being sarcastic?”, the demon snorted.

“Guys…”, Seunghee tried to shut them up once again.

“Well, maybe if you wouldn’t speak such nonsense…”, the angel replied.

“Excuse me, mister!”, Wooyoung’s voice dripped with sarcasm, “Am I not academical enough for you, sir? Fuck you.”

He lifted his middle finger towards the angel, who seemed deeply offended by it.

“You are the most immature being I ha-”, San started to rant when another loud sound interrupted him.

“Enough, guys! We are in the middle of something important”, Seunghee reminded them.

“No, please, don’t mind us, go on”, a female voice chuckled.

Seunghee raised her head to look up towards the source of the voice. On the tree above them, three shadows lurked, their eyes glistening underneath the moonlight. With a soft thud, one of the shadows descended.

“Solar…”, Seunghee whispered the name of the sect leader.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw San draw his dual swords, their pristine surface reflecting the moon, his stare becoming as hard steel as that of his weapon. Seunghee could feel a soft voice speaking into her mind: _Three of them at the west. Requesting reinforcements. Forth one is not here. Keep an eye out for her._ Wooyoung was nowhere to be found.

“Ah, Seunghee! Long time no see!”, Solar greeted her happily.

‘ _Let’s keep them busy while Wooyoung brings Seonghwa here, there’s no way we could win this’_ , San spoke directly into Seunghee’s mind. She did not enjoy the tingling it left on her head, but she endured it and kept a straight face.

“How have you been?”, Seunghee politely asked the vampire.

“Busy!”, Solar gestured vaguely, “Running away from the AAP, plotting revenge, feeling thirsty…”

Her face contorted into a scary expression.

“I presume the ritual is taking place now?”, Hwasa came forward.

Both San and Seunghee remained silent. The vampire gulped down. Her whole body was asking her to run away from the dangerous situation, but that would put her friends at risk.

“You know? We were very angry you took our little toys from us…”, Solar pouted and approached Seunghee, “I might have to make you go through the same…”

A pointy nail rested on Seunghee’s cheek. She felt a wave of rage going throughout her body. Seunghee knew what they meant. They knew who her ‘pet’ was. Binnie. She tried to keep her composure, but the sole concept of them putting their hands on the witch infuriated her.

“Touch her and you won’t live to see the next sunrise”, Seunghee warned her.

That made Solar laugh.

“I’m afraid that’s my line, dear”, she chuckled.

Her whole face expression changed once again and grabbed Seunghee by the neck. The vampire felt her bones would break from the immense pressure Solar was putting on it, but her neck resisted. After all, she was also a vampire. She threw a hand at the vampire with her palm open. The strength pushed Solar back, liberating Seunghee from her claws. However, the vampire recovered quickly and tried to tackle her once again. Seunghee dodged and punched Solar instead. She looked sideways and saw that San had also engaged in combat with the other two vampires. He skillfully managed his dual swords, keeping the creatures away from him, but he was not able to land a single blow. He was fast, but they were faster. If he did not keep an eye on the two of them, they would get him before Wooyoung came back with Seonghwa. Luckily, they did not have to wait for much longer. A thunder sounded in the distance, and lightning struck, revealing a presence in the shadows. Seonghwa was lifting his flamberge sword up to the sky. The undulating blade shone filled with static charge.

“About time!”, San cried out.

“Sorry, I was organizing everyone”, Seonghwa immediately seized his sword and joined the fray.

Wooyoung came to Seunghee’s side. Solar jumped over the demon, looking for an opening towards his neck. Seunghee, sensing the vampire’s intentions, tackled them both. Once they were on the ground, she pushed the other vampire and laid on top of her, trying to restrain her with her own body. However, Solar reacted fast and not a second had passed when she was the one on top of Seunghee. She took a blow on her face that would have blown someone’s head and splattered a human’s brain on the forest, but now she was strong enough to resist such strength. Seunghee tried to fight back using her whole body as a weapon, sinking her nails on Solar’s arms, attempting to keep her and her fangs as far away as possible.

“It’s a pity I have to kill you”, the vampire spoke, “I would have gladly welcomed you into our group.”

“I wouldn’t want anything to do with you”, Seunghee threw Solar with a final push, strong enough to make her hit her back on a tree.

Seunghee quickly got up, her eyes both fixed on her opponent and assorting the situation around her. Seonghwa had teamed up with San and were keeping the vampires at bay. Wooyoung was once again by her side. He looked as if he was going to faint any minute now.

“Why did it take you so long?”, Seunghee huffed.

“The other one…”, Wooyoung could barely talk, “She came… from the opposite direction…”

Solar charged towards them once again. Wooyoung’s knees gave out and he fell down. The vampire quickly chose him as the weakest of the bunch. Seunghee got on her way, protecting the demon.

“Wooyoung!”, Seunghee called out his name, “Shit!”

“Can you, like, keep yourself alive for a second?”, San shouted across the fray.

“San! Go help!”, Seonghwa ordered, “Reinforcements will be coming soon.”

San cursed and tried to escape his personal fight with Hwasa, but the vampire was tough.

“Where do you think you are going?”, she lifted an eyebrow almost suggestively, “We are just getting to know each other…”

“We can have tea another day, miss”, the angel assured her.

This time he managed to run away, thanks to one of Seonghwa’s lightning that hit Hwasa, and get to Seunghee’s side who was struggling to keep Solar at bay. San slashed the vampire from the back, forcing her to cry out from the pain. Her screams mixed with the cry of wolves. Everyone turned around and watched how six wolves approached them at full speed.

“That’s Jaeyoung’s and Younghoon’s groups”, Seonghwa beamed with joy.

Finally, the reinforcements had arrived. The rest of the combat went by at the speed of light. Seunghee simply watched as a giant wolf jumped over Solar, biting her arm off. Not a single drop of blood dripped from what was left of her right shoulder, which scared Seunghee. It was as if the vampire was made of stone, the whitest marble on planet Earth. Byul tried to come to her aid, but a werewolf stood on her way and pushed her to the ground. She tried to gain foot again, but another werewolf came to help the first one. Hwasa tried to escape the fray, but Seonghwa went after hair, his sword cutting the air between them as she dodged the attack. However, that was exactly what the angel wanted. A werewolf hit her from the side and started biting on her as if it was a simple toy. A minute later, the other two vampires had lost a body member as well, making them unable to move as a wolf sat on top of each one of them. Seunghee then proceed to worry over the demon, who looked as pale as ever.

“You okay?”, she asked.

“Chan… got hurt…”, he explained while panting, “I… shadow…”

“Wheein came from the east”, Seonghwa jogged to approach them, “Chan came to inform us while bleeding profusely. He could not shadow travel, so, when Wooyoung came to get me, I still had to inform everyone…”

“Is he okay?”, Seunghee worried over the other demon.

“Yes, don’t worry”, Seonghwa assured her, “I left him with Umji and Seungkwan before coming here.”

“I almost got us lost in the shadows”, Wooyoung joked.

“Don’t joke with these kinds of topics”, San reprimanded him.

“I was just trying to shrug it off, jeez”, the demon complained.

“You should take serious matters seriously!”, San insisted.

“If you take things seriously you age faster!” “You _can’t_ age, dumbass!” “If I could!”

“You are so childish!”, San exploded, “That’s why we could never be anything!”

“But you want to!”, the demon reminded him then shut up for a second, “Wait… You want to?”

“Yes, I do want to! But you are simply unbearable”, San blushed to the tip of his ears.

“You are no better than me”, Wooyoung bit back.

Seonghwa and Seunghee looked at each other, both wanting to remind the couple they were still there, but too caught up in the conversation to say anything.

“You didn’t say that in Prague!”, San reminded him.

“Oh! Look who is bringing up Prague now!”, the demon snarled.

At this point, Seonghwa took it upon himself to stop the bickering. He coughed, grabbing the attention of the two.

“If you have the energy to fight then I believe you could teleport us back?”, he asked.

“Just give me a couple more minutes, I still gotta beat your subordinate’s ass for a little while”, Wooyoung replied.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t allow that”, Seonghwa smiled awkwardly.

Seunghee could not help but chuckle. Wooyoung was truly a lost case.

“Take Seonghwa back, c’mon”, Seunghee helped him get up.

“Just because you are asking nicely…”, Wooyoung slowly stood up again.

“I’ll stay behind and tie these girlies up”, San pointed at them with a tilt of his head.

“I’m pretty sure the boys will be glad to help you restrain them”, Seonghwa looked at the wolves.

One of them, a beige colored one, bowed his head and disappeared behind some bushes. A second later, he came back in his human form.

“Changmin at your service”, he smiled, a dimple poking out.

“Okay, Changmin, would you grab this rope?”, San smiled back, his own dimple poking out as well.

“Is that a sexual innuendo?”, Wooyoung lifted an eyebrow.

“You jelly?”, San joked.

“Yeah.”

“Wha-?”, the angel started a phrase he did not get to finish.

Seunghee felt the floor sway under her feet. She saw herself back in the clear, next by the still burning fire. A figure quickly came over her, and the vampire’s first instinct was to push them aside until she met a familiar face.

“Are you okay?”, Binnie’s eyebrows were knitted together.

“Yes, I’m okay”, Seunghee assured her, “How about you?”

Seunghee held Binnie by her arms. “I’m a little dizzy, but good overall.”

Binnie hugged her tightly, her torso trembling. Seunghee realized the witch was crying.

“Binnie…”, Seunghee tried to console her, “What’s wrong?”

“I was so scared when I heard San’s voice”, the witch sobbed.

“It’s okay, I wouldn’t let anyone hurt me if I know you are waiting for me”, the vampire muttered softly while caressing the witch’s back.

“I was so scared…”, Binnie repeated.

“I’m okay.”

“Don’t ever scare me like this again”, the witch pouted while looking into Seunghee’s eyes, “Promise?”

“Promise”, Seunghee smiled.

She gave her a soft kiss on the lips, but Binnie pulled her closer, surprising the vampire, who gladly returned the eagerness. Placing her hands on Binnie’s waist, she pressed her lips against the witch’s. Seunghee felt Binnie’s own hands grabbing her by the back of her neck, causing her heart to drop to her stomach.

“Don’t do that in public”, Seunghee spoke an octave lower than usual.

“Sorry”, Binnie chuckled while becoming the shade of a tomato.

“Girls, if you are done…”, Wooyoung interrupted them.

“What?”, Seunghee glared at the demon.

“I just think you’ll like to see that”, he pointed behind them.

Emerging from the shadows of the forest, Seunghee could make out a couple wolf-like figures. Illuminated by the fire, six wolves eventually made their entrance in the forest. Only one of them, the smallest of the bunch, was a different color than black, its chestnut fur reflecting the whimsical swaying of the flames. Every werewolf around them, transformed into a wolf and started howling. The six of them had survived the hunting and become part of the clan.

“Bless the Moon”, Hyojung sighed relieved.

“This calls for a celebration!”, Arin beamed.

“Cheers to that!”, Wooyoung nodded.

The wolves howled once again, seemingly agreeing to the idea. Seunghee felt immensely happy. After all, they did deserve to party, even if it was just for one day.

※

Seunghee did not know who had brought the hot wine, but she was not complaining. Before the party started, Eunha and Seonghwa had taken care of the vampire sect. They had called for AAP reinforcements, saying they had encountered them in the forest and handed them to the authorities. No word of the hunting had been mentioned to the police, which encouraged the werewolves to invite the angel squad that had helped them to the party. They had declined their offer at first, afraid they were imposing on them, but they could not resist the barbecue smell that came from the still dancing flames of the bonfire. Everyone settled somewhere around it, sitting in groups, munching, and drinking. Seunghee had an arm surrounding Binnie, while with the other she held a glass of red wine. It was not like she could get drunk, but she was enjoying its taste, letting it warm up her throat. She could not help but think that she felt alive. Surrounded by her friends, in good shape and company, she could not ask for more.

“I’m so happy”, she let Binnie know at some time.

“I’m happy too, then”, Binnie softly pressed her lips against the vampire’s cheek.

“I wish this moment could last forever.”

Seunghee tried to engrave it all in her memory. Arin was lying, resting her head on Hyojung’s lap, almost passed drunk from all the wine while the deity laughed at something Jiho was telling her about. Chan was luckily sitting in the circle with them, his injured had been taken care of by the experts hands of Umji and he looked at Jiho while she talked as if she was the only person in the whole world. Seunghee could understand that feeling as she felt the same towards Binnie. As expected, Wooyoung, the other demon, was nowhere to be found. He had long ago disappeared into the shadows of the trees, followed by a pretty boy with a protruding dimple. Seunghee had no idea where they were, or what they were doing, but she knew she did not want to find out. On the other side of the clear, Yooa hung out with some of Sangyeon’s wolfpack members, a very timid Mimi placing her head on the werewolf’s shoulder. The vampire smiled at the sight. She was happy her newfound family was once again complete, all matters settled… except for…

“Arin”, she tried calling the fairy’s name.

She turned her face towards the vampire, her cheeks reddened by the alcohol.

“Would you tell us about that guy?”, Seunghee knew that taking advantage of her alcoholic state was not fair play, but she wanted to know, “That Soobin?”

“The sylph?”, Arin slurred her words.

“Yes”, Jiho insisted, noticing Seunghee’s trick.

“Oh, he…”, Arin daydreamed, “He was so tall…. His wings would always hit me in the face…”

Binnie chuckled. “Is that a good thing?”

“He played the lyre with such grace…”, Arin extended her hand towards the night sky, as if her fingers could reach him.

“The lyre?”, Chan posed, “How long ago was this romance of yours?”

“Almost four millennia ago”, she replied.

“What?”, Seunghee was shocked.

“We are very ancient nature forces after all”, Arin chuckled.

“Nature forces? What do you mean?”, Jiho asked.

“Well, you are in front of the goddess of-”, Hyojung put a hand on Arin’s mouth, preventing her from talking any more.

“Why can’t we know?”, Seunghee demanded.

“Ignorance is bliss”, Hyojung smiled at her.

Without them realizing, Yooa and Mimi had approached their group.

“Hyojung, I think it’s about time you tell them”, Yooa spoke softly.

“Tell us what?”, Binnie was worried now.

“Who they truly are”, the werewolf explained.

“What?” “I don’t understand.” “Why so much secrecy?” “Is something the matter?”

“Who are you?”, Seunghee asked directly to Hyojung.

The deity seemed to have accepted Yooa’s words. With a heavy sigh, Hyojung smiled once again, but she looked sad, as if she had lived through too many hardships to share around the bonfire on a single night. Everyone was curious about what the deity would talk about, so they all listen attentively when she spoke.

“Let me tell you a story, about a girl and a guy…

**Author's Note:**

> Finally Seunghee and Binnie got together! It makes me so happy as a writer to see them develop feelings for each other (even if I'm the one writing those feelings... but you get me). I hope you enjoyed the scene as much as I did. If you would comment your thoughts below I'd be delighted! Even if it's just a happy face :) And about Mimi and Yooa.... I swear they'll come around just give them some time... That's all from me. Next chapter will be up in about a week and a halfish (I can't promise anything because I am employed now but I'll try my best) Don't forget to leave kudos! Thank you for reading my fic once again <3


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